It's not all doom and gloom....polar bears doing better than thought

Mickeroo

A survey has apparently revealed that polar bear populations in a certain area are larger than expected and may even be growing:

The number of bears along the western shore of Hudson Bay, believed to be among the most threatened bear subpopulations, stands at 1,013 and could be even higher, according to the results of an aerial survey released Wednesday by the Government of Nunavut. That’s 66 per cent higher than estimates by other researchers who forecasted the numbers would fall to as low as 610 because of warming temperatures that melt ice faster and ruin bears’ ability to hunt. The Hudson Bay region, which straddles Nunavut and Manitoba, is critical because it’s considered a bellwether for how polar bears are doing elsewhere in the Arctic.

Now I don't know how reliable the source is on this, could very well be anti-anti-climate change propoganda either way if it is indeed true its nice to hear rather than another exttinction eh?

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/healthy-polar-bear-count-confounds-doomsayers/article2392523/

Adam Khor

I for one have been seeing many photos of polar bears in forests, and although I know they sometimes show up in such seemingly atypical places, I can´t help but to wonder... could it be that polar bears will abandon the shrinking ice platforms and return to the forests that saw their birth, perhaps being re-absorbed by brown bears (as they are already known to hybridize with them)?

Hollzy

Maybe. Bears are very adaptable. I'm not sure about being re-absorbed but I can definitely picture them changing habitat.

Mickeroo

I could very much see it happening with them mating with brown bears and the like.

Birdnuts

Mickeroo wrote: »

I could very much see it happening with them mating with brown bears and the like.

That has already happened in parts of Canada

Mickeroo

Birdnuts wrote: »

That has already happened in parts of Canada

yeah, I believe it was dubbed a Pizzley

Hollzy

That's such a great word!

Adam Khor

I know it has happened, that's why I think the two species may very well merge again... I mean its happening with other species as well.

Here's what a pizzly looks like in case someone missed it:

Yitzhak Rabin

Is a pizzly as large as a polar bear?

Adam Khor

yekahS wrote: »

Is a pizzly as large as a polar bear?

According to what I've read they're "midway in size between the two species", but the brown bear varies so much in size that this is rather ambiguous. I suposse it means it's quite big tho...

Hollzy

Here's another interesting article on polar bears.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/science/97654-can-polar-bears-keep-their-heads-above-water-in-a-warming-world

steddyeddy

Well they might have the Irish gene for survival considering polar bears are descended from Irish brown bears!

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0707/breaking48.html